Automatic washing machine and toroidal and inverse toroidal washing motion

ABSTRACT

An automatic washing machine capable of washing with both a toroidal and inverse toroidal washing motion.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to automatic washing machines and more specifically to an automatic washing machine with a clothes mover comprising an impeller and auger wherein the washing machine can have a toroidal or an inverse toroidal washing motion.

2. Description of the Related Art

Automatic washing machines are commonly used appliances for cleaning loads of clothing articles using a user-inputted programmed wash cycle and combinations of water and detergent solutions. Automatic washing machines can generally be categorized as horizontal axis machines or vertical axis machines. Horizontal axis machines are sometimes referred to as “front loaders” and comprise a perforated basket located within an imperforate tub, with the basket rotating about a generally horizontal axis, although the axis can be canted relative to the horizontal, and the agitation of the clothes is accomplished primarily by the tumbling of the clothes in the basket as the basket rotates.

A typical vertical axis automatic washing machine comprises a perforated basket disposed inside an imperforate wash tub, with the basket rotating about a generally vertical axis, although the axis can be canted relative to the vertical. A clothes mover for imparting movement to the clothing articles and water inside the basket is mounted within the basket and is mechanically coupled to a motor assembly for rotation about a generally vertical axis. Agitation of the clothes is accomplished primarily by the clothes mover.

It is understood that the term “water” can be replaced by “wash fluid” or other fluid not comprising of water.

During use, a load of clothing is placed into the basket along with a detergent solution, and a user selects a wash cycle from an interface on the washing machine based on variables such as load size, water temperature, and wash cycle length. During the wash cycle, clothing is agitated in the basket to improve the removal of dirt.

Clothes movers for imparting mechanical energy to the water and clothing articles inside a vertical axis automatic washing machine are known to be an impeller or an agitator. While the impeller and agitator are similar, an impeller traditionally has a low profile with vanes that extend toward the radial center, whereas the agitator traditionally has a skirt from which extends a vertical column extending substantially the height of the basket, with vanes extending along the skirt and up the column. In some applications, the agitator can be in combination with an auger. The auger may also have one or more vanes traditionally in the form of a helix to drive the clothes down. The auger is traditionally mounted to the column by a one-way clutch such that the auger will rotate only in one direction while the agitator can be rotationally reciprocated to ensure the auger only drives the clothes downwardly.

Preprogrammed wash cycles are used to improve the performance of washing machines by controlling, among other variables, the fill level of water, the water temperature and the wash cycle time length, thereby tailoring the wash cycle to the load being washed. Deep fill wash cycles have typically been used, wherein water is filled to near the top of the wash basket during the wash cycle. In a deep fill wash cycle, the movement of the clothes mover causes the clothing to move in a well-known rollover pattern. This pattern is referred to as a toroidal rollover pattern wherein clothing articles move radially inwardly along the top of the basket, downwardly along the center of the basket, radially outwardly along the bottom of the basket, and upwardly along the side wall of the basket. Deep fill washes are known to be gentler on articles of clothing in that the clothes are suspended in water reducing contact with the clothes mover and basket walls. However, a deep fill cycle uses more water resources than a low fill cycle.

Low fill wash cycles have been used to improve the energy efficiency and reduce water usage of washing loads of clothing. These wash cycles tend to use only as much water as needed to saturate the clothing inside the wash basket and thus clothing is not suspended in water as with a deep fill wash cycle. However, without the deep fill, the clothes are not suspended in the water and tend to stay closer to the clothes mover, which increases the contact between clothing articles and clothes mover, which can cause increased wear on clothing.

A phenomenon has been observed with certain low fill wash cycles. During a low fill wash cycle where clothes movement is imparted by an impeller, an inverse toroidal rollover pattern occurs where the clothes moves inwardly along the impeller, upwardly in the center of the wash basket, radially outwardly along the top of the wash basket, and downwardly along the side wall of the wash basket in a repeating pattern. This phenomenon is discussed more fully in U.S. Pat. No. 6,212,722, held by the assignees of the invention, whose description is incorporated by reference.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An automatic washing machine according to the present invention comprises a wash tub defining a recess into which is positioned a perforated basket defining a wash chamber for washing a load of clothing articles. A clothes mover is positioned within the wash chamber and comprises an impeller and an auger. The impeller is mounted near the bottom of the wash chamber such that it may rotate within the wash chamber. The impeller has multiple vanes that imparts a toroidal movement of the clothing in the wash chamber during a deep fill wash cycle and alternately imparts an inverse toroidal movement of the clothing in the wash chamber during a low fill wash cycle. The auger is mounted to the impeller such that it may rotate within the wash chamber to enhance the toroidal movement of clothing articles in the wash chamber during a deep fill wash cycle.

The auger can be mounted to the impeller such that at least a portion of the auger lies above the liquid level in the wash chamber during a low fill wash cycle. The auger can also have a helical vane such that at least a portion of the vane lies above the liquid level in the wash chamber during a low fill wash cycle. The helical vane can be oriented so that it drives clothing articles that come into contact with it downwardly toward the impeller. This can be accomplished be mounting the auger to the impeller such that the auger rotates in one direction only.

The washing machine can further comprise a water inlet for introducing water into the wash chamber to a predetermined fill level, wherein the fill level for a wash cycle can be a low fill or a deep fill. For a deep fill level wash cycle, the impeller can be completely submerged in the water and the auger can be at least partially submerged. For a low fill level wash cycle, the impeller may be above the wash fluid level, partially submerged, or completely submerged. For a low fill level wash cycle wherein the impeller is at least partially submerged, the auger can have helical vanes positioned such that at least a portion of the helical vanes are above the water level.

A solenoid valve fluidly coupled to the water inlet can be used in the automatic washing machine to control the flow of water through the water inlet. The automatic washing machine can further comprise a controller operably coupled to the solenoid actuated valve to control the operation of the solenoid actuated valve. A user interface can be operably coupled to the controller which stores information for a low fill and a deep fill wash cycle, either of which can be selected by a user through the user interface. The low fill and deep fill washing process may be parts of a single wash cycle or they may be employed on different wash cycles.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an automatic washing machine according to the present invention that is partially cut away to show interior components.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an impeller and auger clothes mover arrangement according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic sectional view of the automatic washing machine according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of an automatic washing machine in accordance with the present invention, illustrating a low-fill wash cycle with an inverse toroidal washing motion.

FIG. 5 is a schematic illustration of an automatic washing machine in accordance with the present invention, illustrating a deep-fill wash cycle with a toroidal washing motion.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

In general the term “impeller” refers to a clothes mover comprising a relatively flat plate with fixed vanes. These vanes can vary in thickness. These vanes are attached along the base of the vane to the plate. The vanes do not flex away from the base of the plate. The vanes may be radial in nature or they may curve. The vanes may also form different geometric shapes. In a traditional deep fill wash process the vanes are designed to pump water away from the center of a wash basket at the bottom of the basket. This pumps water through the garments. When a strong water current is created, the garments tend to move with the water current. When employing the wash process discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,212,722, the impeller can be used to move the garments independent of the fluid motion.

The impeller may consist of a moveable center hub or small impellers located on the plate. The impeller may have protrusions or channels to pump water when the impeller rotates. Sometimes the impeller can have a center shaft that may have an auger-like feature. In this case the auger is either fixed to the plate and thus will have no independent motion from the plate, or it is free-floating and will oscillate in both directions. Impellers are alternately referred to as pulsator, dolly, agipeller, infuser and wash plate. The impeller can also be referred to as an agitator since the impeller “oscillates” and “shakes/moves briskly” the clothes and water.

In general the term “agitator” refers to a clothes mover comprising a plate with radial vanes and a center hub that protrudes above the water line. The vanes tend to be thinner, taller, and have more surface area than the vanes on an impeller. The vanes tend to be partially detached from the base plate on the outer part of the vane. Some vanes are completely detached from the base plate. The vanes are generally attached to the center hub. The vanes may also be flexible and can bend away from the base plate. The vanes are designed to pump garments and water radially outward along the base plate. If the agitator has an augering mechanism, the auger pushes garments down the center of the basket. This improves load motion. Some agitators have a fixed vane center shaft or may have a fixed or an undriven auger. Sometimes the agitator may have fixed or flexible vanes on the center shaft in place of an auger drive. These agitators may redistribute the load but do not generate strong toroidal motion. If an agitator has an auger, the auger is usually driven in one direction. The auger is usually designed to push the garments down the center of the basket.

Referring now to the drawings and in particular to FIG. 1, there is shown an automatic washing machine 10 of the present invention. The washing machine 10 has an exterior cabinet 12 with a top panel 14 and an openable lid 16 for access to the interior of the washing machine 10. A user interface 18 has multiple controls 20, which a user can select to operate the washing machine 10 through the steps of a wash cycle. The lid 16 provides access to the interior of the washing machine 10 which includes a perforated wash basket 22 positioned within an imperforate wash tub 24. A clothes mover 26 is located in the wash basket 22 to impart mechanical agitation to a load of clothing articles placed in the wash basket 22 and extends upwardly from the bottom of the wash basket 22 to a height substantially equal to the wash basket 22. The wash tub 24 and wash basket 22 are supported within the washer by conventional means. An electric motor 44 is coupled to the clothes mover 26 and is located beneath the wash tub 24.

Referring to FIG. 2, the clothes mover 26 comprises an impeller 28 having a base 30 and a plurality of radially extending vanes 32, and a collar 34 extending vertically from the impeller 28. The impeller 28 is mounted to the electric motor 44 such that the impeller 28 is driven in a reciprocating oscillatory movement. Disposed on the collar 34 is an auger 36 having at least one vane 38, shown here as a helical vane that runs along the length of the auger 36. The auger 36 is coupled by a one-way clutch so that the auger 36 only rotates in one direction while the impeller 28 oscillates back and forth. The helical vane 38 is shaped such that it drives clothing articles down when the auger is rotated.

Referring to FIG. 3, a schematic illustration is included to show the interior of the automatic washing machine in greater detail. The clothes mover 26 is mounted to a drive shaft 42, which is connected to the electric motor 44. The motor 44 operates to drive the wash basket 22 in a rotary movement and also to drive the impeller 28 in a reciprocating oscillatory movement in accordance with a programmed wash cycle chosen by the user. The auger 36 is mounted to the impeller via a clutch mechanism that is conventional in the art and that allows the auger 36 to continuously rotate even as the impeller 28 oscillates back and forth. A water inlet 50 is connected to a water source and dispenses water into the wash basket 22 and wash tub 24 when a solenoid actuated valve 48 is opened.

A controller 46 stores information for a low fill wash cycle and a deep fill wash cycle and has a user interface 18 including controls 20 that allow a user to selectively choose a desired wash cycle. The controller 46 is operably coupled to the motor 44 to control the output to the shaft 42 driving the wash basket 22 and the impeller 28. The controller 46 is also coupled to the valve 48 to dispense water into the wash basket 22 and wash tub 24 through water inlet 50.

To operate the washing machine 10, a user places a load of clothing in the wash basket 22 along with any detergent or cleaning aids. The user then selects a preprogrammed wash cycle from the user interface 18 using the controls 20. This wash cycle can be a low fill wash cycle or a deep fill wash cycle, depending on the preference of the user. The controller 46 will operate the solenoid actuated valve 48 to allow water through the water inlet 50 and the motor 44 to drive the wash tub 24 and the clothes mover 26 in accordance with the user-selected wash cycle.

The vanes 32 perform different functions depending on the fill level of water during a wash cycle. A wash cycle may consist of more than one fill stop and may include both low and deep fills. A low fill wash cycle has at least one low fill step during which clothing is moved by a clothes mover in an inverse-toroidal rollover pattern. A deep fill wash cycle has at least one deep fill step during which clothing is moved by a clothes mover in a toroidal rollover pattern.

For a low fill level wash cycle illustrated in FIG. 4, the vanes 32 will be in more physical contact with clothing articles and thus will help to drag clothing with the impeller 28 as it oscillates back and forth, such that clothing articles in contact with the impeller 28 move in an arc-like path while clothing or parts of clothing outside the periphery of the impeller 28 are impeded. This causes the inverse toroidal pattern previously described, wherein clothing moves inwardly along the impeller 28, upwardly in the center of the wash basket, radially outwardly along the top of the wash basket, and downwardly along the side wall of the wash basket. During such a low fill wash cycle, the impeller 28 can be at least partially submerged in water and the auger 36 will be mostly out of the water. Thus the auger 36 may still rotate, but the auger will not influence the washing of the clothes load. The low fill wash cycle is defined by the use of the impeller to move the clothes in an inverse toroidal method. The actual water level in the wash basket may be below the level of the impeller, partially submerging the impeller, or fully submerging the impeller. The water level may be high enough to partially submerge the auger. However the auger is not effective in pushing the load down the center of the basket. Any downward momentum applied by the auger is overcome by the upward momentum on the clothes load.

For a deep fill level wash cycle illustrated in FIG. 5, the clothing articles will be suspended in water and the vanes 32 will be more in contact with the water and thus will function more as a source for fluidic motion and will not impart as great of a drag force on clothing articles. The clothing articles may be in physical contact with the vanes for part of the impeller stroke. However the impeller applies enough fluid pumping action to overcome any significant drag forces on the clothing articles. Thus it is possible to use the same fluid level for both the low fill cycle and the deep fill cycle. If the impeller velocity is increased (or the angle of motion is increased), the fluidic pumping forces will overcome any dragging forces and the clothing articles will travel in the direction of the fluid. Because of its placement above the impeller 28, the auger 36 will only aid in washing clothes during a deep fill wash cycle wherein the fill level is deep enough such that the impeller 28 is completely submerged and the auger 36 will be at least partially submerged. The curve of the helical vane 38 corresponds to the direction of rotation of the auger 36 such that as the auger 36 rotates, the vanes will urge clothing articles downward along the auger 36 toward the bottom of the wash basket 22, thus aiding in establishing the toroidal pattern wherein clothing moves radially inwardly along the top of the basket, downwardly along the center of the basket, radially outwardly along the bottom of the basket, and upwardly along the side wall of the basket.

While the invention has been specifically described in connection with certain specific embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that this is by way of illustration and not of limitation, and the scope of the appended claims should be construed as broadly as the prior art will permit. 

1. An automatic washing machine comprising: an imperforate tub defining a recess; a perforated basket positioned within the recess and defining a wash chamber; a clothes mover positioned within the wash chamber and comprising: an impeller mounted for rotational movement within the wash chamber and having multiple vanes configured to impart a toroidal movement of clothing articles in the wash chamber during a deep fill wash cycle and an inverse toroidal movement of clothing articles in the wash chamber during a low fill wash cycle; and an auger mounted to the impeller for rotational movement within the wash chamber to enhance the toroidal movement of the clothing articles in the wash chamber during a deep fill wash cycle.
 2. The automatic washing machine according to claim 1, wherein the auger is mounted to the impeller such that at least a portion of the auger lies above the liquid level in the wash chamber during a low fill wash cycle.
 3. The automatic washing machine according to claim 2, wherein the auger comprises a helical vane and at least a portion of the helical vane lies above the liquid level in the wash chamber during a low fill wash cycle.
 4. The automatic washing machine according to claim 3, wherein the helical vane is oriented to drive clothing articles that come into contact with the helical vane downwardly toward the impeller.
 5. The automatic washing machine according to claim 4, wherein the auger is mounted to the impeller such that the auger rotates only in the direction to drive the clothing articles that come into contact with the helical vane downwardly toward the impeller.
 6. The automatic washing machine according to claim 5, and further comprising a water inlet for introducing water into the wash chamber to a predetermined fill level.
 7. The automatic washing machine according to claim 6, wherein the predetermined fill level is one of a deep fill and a low fill.
 8. The automatic washing machine according to claim 7, wherein for a deep fill the impeller is completely submerged in the water and the auger is at least partially submerged in the water.
 9. The automatic washing machine according to claim 7, wherein for a low fill the impeller is at least partially submerged.
 10. The automatic washing machine according to claim 7, wherein for a low fill the impeller is not submerged.
 11. The automatic washing machine according to claim 9, wherein the auger comprises a helical vane and at least a portion of the helical vane is above the water.
 12. The automatic washing machine according to claim 7, and further comprising a solenoid actuated valve fluidly coupled to the water inlet to control the flow of water through the water inlet.
 13. The automatic washing machine according to claim 12, and further comprising a controller operably coupled to the solenoid actuated valve to control the operation of the solenoid actuated valve.
 14. The automatic washing machine according to claim 13, and further comprising a user interface operably coupled to the controller and the controller storing at least a deep fill and a low fill wash cycle, either of which can be selected by a user through the user interface.
 15. The automatic washing machine according to claim 1, wherein the auger comprises at least one vane.
 16. The automatic washing machine according to claim 1, and further comprising a controller for selectively controlling the operation of the washing machine between at least one of a deep fill wash cycle and a low fill cycle. 